The Cavalier Daily
Serving the University Community Since 1890

No. 4 men’s soccer falls to Notre Dame

<p>Senior midfielder Todd Wharton scored his first goal of the season on a penalty kick late in the second half against Notre Dame. </p>

Senior midfielder Todd Wharton scored his first goal of the season on a penalty kick late in the second half against Notre Dame. 

When playing a top-15 team in the country in a hostile road environment with just three days of rest, it is very tough to muster the effort and motivation to play your best game.

The fourth-ranked Cavaliers (5-1-2, 1-1-1 ACC) were far from their best Friday, in South Bend, Indiana — this game might have been one of their weaker performances in recent memory.

Riding a nine-game winning streak dating to 2014’s College Cup run, Virginia struggled to make an impact on the game, falling to the 14th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-2-1, 2-1-0 ACC), 3-1. In the first 45 minutes, Virginia was outshot by the Irish 5-2, and — other than one header from sophomore midfielder Jake Rozhansky in the third minute — did not test Irish junior goalkeeper Chris Hubbard.

Notre Dame, however, pushed against the Virginia backline throughout, gaining chances and forcing sophomore goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell to bail his team out with a show-stopping save in the 18th minute to preserve the shutout.

Unfortunately, the defense’s efforts didn’t last long as junior midfielder Mark Gormley put the Irish ahead in the 36th minute after an impressive drop-off pass from senior Patrick Hodan in the penalty area set him up perfectly for his second goal of the season. The remainder of the first half was rather uneventful, but once the referee blew his whistle for the second half, the physical ACC rivals began to really go after each other.

As is typical for the Cavaliers, Notre Dame committed more fouls throughout the game — an additional five in the second half — but it was Virginia’s lack of concentration that proved fatal. In the 71st minute junior midfielder Riggs Lennon committed a hard foul and shown a red card — his second card of the game — and was sent off, leaving the Cavaliers to play with 10 men for the remaining 20 minutes.

Notre Dame, which is already a strong offensive team, capitalized on its one-man advantage after just seven minutes. Off an overhead volley on a throw-in, senior midfielder Evan Panken tore through the defense and fired a rocket into the upper 90 for his first goal of the season, doubling the Irish tally and all but securing a victory.

In the 79th minute, however, after freshman forward Edward Opoku was brought down in the 18-yard box, senior midfielder and captain Todd Wharton converted the penalty kick for his first goal of the year to bring Virginia within one.

If Cavaliers fans had any hopes of a comeback and an elusive point on the road, those were dashed in the 81st minute, when senior midfielder Connor Klekota knocked in a cross off a Virginia turnover to put the Irish up 3-1, ending Virginia’s unbeaten streak and sending them back to Charlottesville with significant work to do.

With just three days between this loss and their next matchup — at home against George Washington Tuesday night — the Cavaliers will have to leave the loss in Indiana and buckle down, because they have four games in 11 days and, in the hypercompetitive ACC, cannot afford to drop any midweek matchups.

Comments

Latest Podcast

The University’s Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admission, Greg Roberts, provides listeners with an insight into how the University conducts admissions and the legal subtleties regarding the possible end to the consideration of legacy status.



https://open.spotify.com/episode/02ZWcF1RlqBj7CXLfA49xt